FIFA wants World Cup nations to “focus on football”

According to the FIFA produced movie United Passions, FIFA has never done anything corrupt. For people with half a brain knows that’s not the case. Nevertheless, FIFA wants to make sure the 32 countries at the World Cup ‘stick to sports.’

While Qatar is paying expenses for fans of each country to speak positively of their nation and report critical social media posts, FIFA sent a letter to each country wanting them to “focus on football” and avoid inserting politics into the sport. You know, the sport that has been in bed with politics since the beginning of professional soccer.

Full details @SkyNews of the letter sent by FIFA chiefs to World Cup teams telling them to focus on football rather than giving morality lessons and thinking one culture is better than an other.https://t.co/etOF4xnyaK https://t.co/TL7jDXOSTm pic.twitter.com/sxBPZCGQpu

— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) November 3, 2022

Among the more notable parts of the letter:

“We know football does not live in a vacuum and we are equally aware that there are many challenges and difficulties of a political nature all around the world. But please do not allow football to be dragged into every ideological or political battle that exists.”

“At FIFA, we try to respect all opinions and beliefs, without handing out moral lessons to the rest of the world. One of the great strengths of the world is indeed its very diversity, and if inclusion means anything, it means having respect for that diversity. No one people or culture or nation is “better” than any other. This principle is the very foundation stone of mutual respect and non-discrimination. And this is also one of the core values of football. So, please let’s all remember that and let football take centre stage.”

“Now, at the FIFA World Cup, we have the unique occasion and opportunity to welcome and embrace everyone, regardless of origin, background, religion, gender, sexual orientation or nationality. Let’s take that opportunity and unite the world through the universal language of football.”

This is all well and good, and might actually be accurate if FIFA never made any political moves. For example, 2018 World Cup host country Russia is currently banned from competing due to invading Ukraine. While that was seen as a rare positive move from FIFA, it still can be seen as a political move.

The issue is that the country who is hosting the World Cup doesn’t follow the things FIFA lays out in that letter. Qatar doesn’t “welcome and embrace everyone, regardless of origin, background, religion, gender, sexual orientation or nationality.” Maybe their money but not them. That’s why the captains of 10 European countries plan to wear rainbow armbands to promote inclusion and equality due to Qatar’s anti-LGBT laws.

All this is is an attempt by FIFA to have as less of a focus on Qatar’s human rights violations as possible while having less of a focus as to how Qatar (and Russia) got the World Cup in the first place, along with the slave labor (and deaths as a result) that went to building the facilities.

FIFA’s letter might work for players in some countries but it also might backfire and do the opposite, encouraging players in other countries to speak out if they feel they’re being silenced by FIFA.

[Rob Harris]